If you watched Central Catholic’s Bradley Gompers play this past season, chances are you came away thinking he was one of the top players in the WPIAL.
Count Gompers’ future college coach as being a “Gompers believer,” but that coach took it even one step further.
“He had a senior season like we thought he would,” Duke’s Manny Diaz said. “He was dominant on both sides of the ball. In my mind he was playing as well as anyone in the country.”
Gompers, by the way, isn’t just the gem of Duke’s recruiting class. He’s the highest-rated recruit in program history.
Boasting a lengthy 6-foot-5, 215-pound frame coupled with outstanding athleticism, Gompers was a force on offense, defense and special teams in his final high school season. Gompers made splash plays and racked up impressive statistics, but for him, much like the other Central Catholic seniors, winning a first WPIAL Class 6A title was the highlight of the season. The Vikings throttled two-time defending champion North Allegheny after losing in the final the previous three seasons.
“With three previous losses, all [at Norwin], just to finally get it done, it means a lot,” Gompers said. “All the work we put in as a team and the bonds we created with our teammates, we deserved it. We worked for it and we got it.”
Central Catholic went on to reach the PIAA final for the eighth time in school history and finished 12-3.
Wins, tackles, catches, attention from major college programs, Gompers got a lot of all of that and more his senior season. He now also holds the title of 2024 Pittsburgh Union Progress Player of the Year. All players in the WPIAL and City League were considered for the award, which was selected by the PUP sports staff.
Gompers is a 4.0 student who in the classroom is good with numbers, but his numbers on the field were better than good. As an outside linebacker (he’ll play there in college), Gompers collected 91 tackles (second best on the team), 16 tackles for loss, 5 sacks, 1 interception (a pick-6 with Diaz watching) and 2 forced fumbles. As a wide receiver, he pulled in 30 catches for a team-high 826 yards (he averaged 27.5 yards per catch) and scored 11 touchdowns. Oh, and he blocked an extra point.
“He was tremendous, and I think it started from the jump,” Central Catholic coach Ryan Lehmeier said. “We played a team [St. Frances Academy, Md.] out of the gate that had Power Five kids littered throughout their roster. And if you sat down and watched the tape, an argument can be made that he was the best player out there. He proved he could compete against the best. He proved that all year. And he was impactful in all three phases. I don’t think you see a lot of skill sets like that.”
It was a breakout season for Gompers, who had most of his junior season ripped away from him because of a broken collarbone. Gompers had been injured in a preseason scrimmage and didn’t return until the final regular-season game. He played in three games, even collecting a game-high 17 tackles in his team’s WPIAL championship loss.
“Last year before I got hurt, I was really confident that I was going to have a breakout year,” said Gompers, who lives in Upper St. Clair. “I thought I was in a good place and had trained really hard over the offseason. Getting hurt, I obviously didn’t plan for that. But I rehabbed and recovered. I worked really hard this offseason, as well. I was so motivated this season.”
Gompers gave a verbal commitment to Diaz and Duke in June. His recruitment, though, was far from over. As Gompers stacked up glowing performances, some of the country’s top programs took notice. Ole Miss offered. So did Penn State. Defending national champion Michigan then did the same. Penn state coach James Franklin and assistant Terry Smith attended a Central Catholic game in September. In an interview a few days later, Franklin said, “We can’t get enough Pittsburgh Central Catholic guys,” a line that was believed to be directed toward Gompers.
Diaz made the trip to Western Pennsylvania to see Gompers in October. Diaz even attended Mass with the team before taking in Central Catholic’s 59-13 win at Norwin. Chances are Diaz had a smile on his face as he stood on the sideline after watching Gompers intercept a pass and return it 64 yards for a touchdown.
“He ran for about 30 yards, and then he started tripping at Manny’s feet, but he was able to stay up and finish,” Lehmeier said. “For [Diaz] to be there, it showed what [Gompers] meant to Diaz and to Duke.”
When Gompers took his official visit to Duke, he was actually hosted by one of Lehmeier’s former players, tight end Jeremiah Hasley. Lehmeier was the offensive coordinator at Pine-Richland when Hasley played there.
Diaz said of Gompers’ night, “He terrorized the other team’s offense and put together an all-around dominant performance.”
It was rumored that Gompers would flip his commitment, likely to either Michigan or Penn State, but in the end, Duke won out. Gompers’ pledge helped give the Blue Devils one of the top recruiting classes in program history. The class is ranked No. 33 in the country by 247 Sports.
“It was a race till the end,” Gompers said. “Even when I called them and told them I was staying with Duke, they were still giving me some push back. I respect all the coaches that recruit me. They are truly great people. The recruiting process is really hard. Michigan and Penn State, they are great schools. If I had to pick another, I’d pick one of those. But I’m happy with Duke and happy with my decision.”
Gompers is highly regarded. He is ranked by 247 Sports as the No. 1 player in the WPIAL, No. 3 in the state and No. 104 in the country. On Saturday, Gompers accepted an invitation to play in the Navy All-American Bowl in San Antonio next month.
“[The commitment] is huge for our program,” said Diaz, whose team is 9-3 and will meet Ole Miss in the Gator Bowl. “But it also shows who he is. He really knows what he wants. He understands what Duke can provide for him on the field, off the field and with life after football.”
Gompers is also an excellent basketball player who will make his season debut in that sport right around Christmas, he said. Gompers has already provided his future coach with a much-wanted Christmas present. That coach sees lots of continued success in Gompers’ future.
“If he continues to develop and works the way that he has, he can be as good as any player anywhere,” Diaz said. “We can help him make his dream’s come true.”
Gompers hopes to major in either business or economics when he gets to Duke. And when asked if he had anything he wanted to say to the Duke fans out there, Gompers sounded like he was ready to get to business.
“Let’s get to work,” he said. “I’m excited to come down there and get an ACC championship and get into the playoffs. That’s the goal.”
Brad is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at beverett@unionprogress.com.